The Post Game - Borderlands 2

Borderlands 2 takes what the first game offered, and adds more, larger areas to explore, more characters, a fantastic story, new enemies, new ways to play, a great soundtrack and stylized graphics that are just as unique as before, but now look even better. And like the first game, it is playable as a four-player co-operative game with easy drop-in / drop-out. If you're an fps fan you owe it to yourself to get this game. I realize that sounds a bit fanboyish, but really, Borderlands 2 is THAT good.

Installed size on my hard-drive (GOTY edition): 10.4 GB.

The number of areas to explore is huge. I don't have the exact data, but it feels several times larger than the first game. There is a lot of snow at the start, but there are rocky deserts, alpine meadows, and a slag-riddled environmental monstrosity awaiting at the end. Quick-travel points abound (usually at the entrances to areas), so it's easy to go from one place to another. In-game save points are unfortunately like the first game; even if you passed a quick-save point, then quit the game thinking you'll resume where you left off, well, you won't. When you resume, you'll be back at the start of the level. Levels are well designed, too – twisting and turning at times, while others are wide open.

The characters that we played in the first game (Roland, Lilith, Mordecai and Brick) are NPCs here, with the story centered around them. Angel, Claptrap, Moxxi, Scooter, Dr. Zed and Marcus return as well. So right away, stepping out into the wastes of Pandora has a familiar vibe. Except now the enemy is the boss of Hyperion Corp, Handsome Jack. Colorful and distinct, there are enough personalities here to never lose interest – even when doing several of the fetch-quest filler missions (yes, they're back, but given the looting-and-leveling nature of the Borderlands games, probably unavoidable). While the story is great, I can't talk too much about it here without spoiling it. The early stages play out as a defy-the-odds hero tale as the player character defies Handsome Jack and escapes to the town of Sanctuary. Angel is still guiding you on your HUD, but your character catches her in a bit of deception. The second act reveals who (and where) she is – and sets the stage for the third act, which culminates in the showdown with Handsome Jack. I was genuinely curious about how this was going to resolve, and kept playing all the way through. This isn't even touching the side missions and quests for secondary characters. Side quests are a mixed bag. I was more than happy to free some animals for Mordecai; collecting body parts for Dr. Zed while a timer counted down was just annoying, and the rewards were barely worth it in either case (usually XP and a weapon which was far below my current level). The only reason to do a number of the side missions is because of the possibility of rare loot and character backstory. The rest are grindy level-fodder, needed for leveling up, but nothing else.

I solo'd most of Borderlands 2 – yeah, crazy – and the game worked well as a solo experience. The bosses were never too hard; just long. One boss took me 45 minutes of running, hiding, sniping, and running again (I was playing the commando class). Clearly the bosses were not designed for soloing. The loot drops were also disappointing. The guns for sale at the kiosks were always – and I mean always – worse than what I was carrying. It's better to loot new weapons than buy them. Which means that other than ammo, there's nothing to spend money on (except respawning). The best weapons are acquired by using a “golden key” on the special loot-drop chest in Sanctuary, so sometimes it's just easier to spend a golden key than spending hours poring over loot (some side-missions for Moxxi do provide decent weapons).

If there is a drawback to Borderlands 2, it’s the amount of DLC. There is a lot. Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep was one of the best pieces of DLC I’ve ever encountered, having a fun story that was uniquely told. The Captain Scarlett DLC, the Creature Slaughterdome DLC and Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage DLC provide solid additional content. But additional player classes as DLC? (The Psycho and Mechromancer DLCs) Raising the character level cap via DLC? (Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade packs) There are a number of DLC packs that focus on skins and such, but this level of “parting out” the game verges on the ridiculous. If the game were not complete without the DLC, it’d be time for a rant. However, without the DLC, Borderlands 2 still feels like a complete experience. Thus I lament the DLC situation, but deduct no points for it.

In an age when it’s cool to have “the latest” at expense of forgetting the hit games of yesteryear, Borderlands 2 inspires the sort of interest that kept me coming back again and again. A great achievement in fps video games, and a game that belongs in the library of every fan of the genre.

The Post Game - Battleborn

Fun game with a low enjoyment ceiling. Recommended because I had fun with it for a while and it works, but repetitive PvE matches, poor PvP matchmaking / empty lobbies, lack of weapon modding and repetitive character leveling means it's not worth the full asking price.

Total size on my hard drive (base only, without the Season Pass content): 25GB.

Battleborn is a game of two parts: PvE and PvP.

PvE

First off, this is not a game for soloing. It can be done, but takes FOREVER. It's much better to try to find a match with other people. Unfortunately, this means the campaign is experienced in bits and pieces, frequently out of order. The story is episodic anyway, but any kind of sense to the story becomes hard to grasp. There's some guy Rendain who's trying to do – something – and our team of Battleborn, assisted by genius Kleese and the AI, Nova, are trying to stop him. Sounds good. The maps and levels flow well, the banter with Kleese and supporting characters is funny (the first few times), the graphics are colorful, and the combat has a good feel (wish sprint was faster, though Speed power-ups help). Bosses are suitably epic, but most enemies behave the same – and in many cases, ARE the same. PvE is best used to practice playing specific characters; expect it to get old fast – even with alternate dialogue for in-game transitions.

PvP

Several different modes with decent net-code – I didn't have many problems with lag (a few, but nothing catastrophic). There are the usual concerns (and complaints) about OP characters. Team-work and a balanced squad is rather more crucial than in other team-based games. Kill/death ratio has zero importance; work together to take down the enemy. If you try to go off on your own and rambo it, you'll die fast. Gearbox is still releasing new maps and characters at the time of this review, so there is some variety still to be had. The problem is that people just aren't playing Battleborn; the Steam “now playing” list indicates 800 people playing at once is a busy day. Out of the millions that log on to Steam every day, that's an incredibly small amount – and that's down from the 1,000 – 1,200 that showed up for a double XP weekend. This indicates that people do own the game, and play it for special events, but they have other things they'd rather play on a daily basis.

Ten people are required for PvP; if you don't have them, you can't start the match. Two is the minimum for PvE, but there's no drop-in / drop-out. Character skills are leveled up in the middle of the match. Press 1 to open the skill menu, press Q, E, or F to choose a skill, the skill is upgraded and the menu closes. It happens in mere seconds and works well. But the very next match, I have to level my character all over again. Obviously I'm supposed to experiment with new ways to play a character, but once you've figured out the best way to play a character, the in-game leveling just becomes annoying. Equipping the load-out doesn't activate the gear in it; the gear has to be activated by accumulating enough shards to do so. Shards are acquired by searching the area for deposits; sometimes enemies drop shards as well. This isn't a problem in PvE with three players or in PvP. In PvE with the maximum of five players, though, there just aren't enough shards to go around. Add to this that the better gear costs more shards to activate, and that it helps to spend shards on building turrets and such, and PvE becomes a mad rush for shards.

Gear can help with things like damage and shields, but it won't provide new weapons; all weapons are bespoke based upon which character you've chosen. I'm not sure if Gearbox was deliberately trying to make Battleborn different from Borderlands (“the weapon varieties were one of the most notable things about Borderlands, so let's not have ANY weapon variety in Battleborn”), but some simple weapon choices and alternatives would have helped add new ways to play beyond choosing a character. (Look at Mass Effect 3's multiplayer; simple as the multiplayer mode is, the number of weapons and the fact that they could be modified added simple but effective depth to the loadout). Instead, playing a specific way requires a specific character; it helps focus attention on the gallery of rogues Gearbox has assembled, but it felt limiting.

I didn’t have much of an issue with PvP balancing (Benedict was OP, but his reload speed was recently nerfed, largely solving the problem). I had no issue with Battleborn’s graphical optimization, either - I also didn't try to max out the graphics and blame Battleborn when the game started stuttering (reduce Draw Distance, Particle Effects and Ambient Occlusion for starters). The cartoony art style of Battleborn might lead you to think you can max it out (like I could do with Borderlands 2), but don't be fooled. Battleborn is very demanding when maxed.

Battleborn provides a good amount of entertainment, but needs more maps (both PvE and PvP), weapon customization, and a larger player base. Get it at 75% off or more so you don't feel too bad if / when you tire of it. Sounds harsh, but there really isn't that much to Battleborn.

The Post Game - Dragon Age: Inquisition

Dragon Age: Inquisition is possessed of a large, beautiful world, some great characters, action-oriented combat and some required grinding for loot. Tactics are there, but are rarely needed. Experiencing the real ending to the game requires the purchase of the Trespasser DLC. A good game whose world is almost too large for its purpose.
Total installed size on my hard-drive (GOTY edition with all DLC): 39.2 GB.

The story, in the best BioWare tradition, is strong and enticing. Fade-rifts are opening all over Thedas.  Some creature known as Corypheus (if you played Dragon Age II, you might remember who he is) seeks to corrupt / gain the power of the land's ruling factions, gathering earthly power unto

himself as he attempts to elevate himself to god-hood. Is he a demon? A magister? Or some new kind of darkspawn? One of his Fade-rites goes badly wrong, and the player-character gets spit out of a rift with some kind magical mark on their left hand. The Chantry's Divine was killed by the rite (or is she merely trapped in the Fade?), leaving confusion and angry factions pointing fingers at each other. In the midst of this, Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast (also from Dragon Age 2) initiates the Inquisition to close the breach in the sky left by Corypheus's rite and seek those who assisted him.

This all happens in the first hour or so of gameplay. BioWare created a fantastic setting of investigation, exploration, and expansion as the Inquisition becomes yours, to be built and used as you see fit. Large-scale faction missions are plotted from the War Room. Completing missions and closing rifts grants Power Points, which can then be spent in the War Room to unlock new areas or undertake main story missions. It's a cool strategy element that kept me thinking about the bigger implications of the search for Corypheus, and the efforts to gain new allies. While this is happening, the Inquisitor builds his / her squad (up to 9 companions are possible), and can spend a large amount

of time talking to them, helping them, and, yes, romancing them (some restrictions apply!). Some characters return from previous games. Varric and Cassandra are selectable squad-mates (both from Dragon Age II). Hawke is not a member of the party, but does join the Inquisitor for a mission. Leliana (from Origins) is an advisor, and has a large supporting role to play; Morrigan appears about half-way through, and like Hawke joins for a mission. There are also call-backs to the previous games in other ways (with the right choices, the ruler of Ferelden will cameo!). It's all the good stuff we've come to expect from BioWare, and they deliver in spades.

“But what about the combat?” you question. “And the grindy looting you referred to?” Read on.

Much of Inquisition is spent exploring areas that are unlocked via the War Room in search of Power Points. While not a sandbox like Skyrim, there are some really large places to go. All are fully explorable; no linear paths in any of them. There are deserts, lush forests, ice plains, and snowy mountains. The missions that fill these areas vary from helping a widow recover her wedding ring to seizing fortresses from Corypheus' Venatori. Inquisition's area design really inspires that “I wonder what's over here” mentality; a lot of time is spent messing about in the game-world, collecting shards, fighting creatures and helping NPCs. And while out exploring, be sure to stop and loot any items you see to acquire “resources” - ore, gems, plants. You'll need them to craft upgrades. Be sure to loot any chests you see as well, because you can't craft something if you don't have the schematic for it. There's so much stuff to loot that it runs the risk of taking over the game. I appreciated the additional gameplay element, but after a while I just wanted to move on with the story. But that's impossible if not enough Power Points have been accumulated to unlock the next major mission. Finding ALL the loot and completing ALL the missions in an area is not necessary to progress through the game, but a decent amount of grind is required. If exploring is your thing, you probably will have plenty of Power Points when you decide to move on to the next mission. If moving quickly through the story is your method, you'll come to resent the required trips into the countryside to do side missions and accumulate Power Points.

Dragon Age Inquisition's combat is a refined version of Dragon Age II's: slick, swift, and action-focused, with little need to pause the game. I liked the combat of Dragon Age II much better than Origins, so to see it developed further was something I appreciated, but if you were a fan of the older system expect to be disappointed. Party AI is quite decent this time around (for mages, anyway; for rogues, not so much). The Tactics menu itself has taken a severe hit, being smaller and with fewer options. If micro-managing the combat was never your thing, prepare to love the combat of Dragon Age: Inquisition. If you were longing for a return to the depth and detail of Origins, prepare to dislike Inquisition's combat – a lot.

On top of this, the final boss of the main campaign (sans DLC) just isn't that impressive. I was expecting the Inquisition's castle to be assaulted, and to fight hordes of demons (and perhaps also darkspawn) in the corridors, fighting up to the highest tower or lowest dungeon, to be greeted with the final boss. This does not happen. There's some teleportation involved, some cool magically shifting landscape, a three-stage battle, and – that's it. It's strangely anti-climatic. It's only after seeing the post-credits scene that we realize who the REAL threat is – but you'll need the Trespasser DLC to deal with them. After all that time spent gathering resources and steeling myself for the implications of the final boss, it is a deliberate fake-out by BioWare. The final boss is over so quickly, and the post-credits reveal occurs so suddenly that if you didn't purchase at least Trespasser, be ready to yell in rage at the obvious DLC-bait.

So Dragon Age: Inquisition is a mixed bag. I love long, grindy games if they're set in a gorgeous world with plenty of things to do. Inquisition delivers by the truck-load. The story is enjoyable, the characters a pleasure. The combat is an evolution of Dragon Age 2's, the final boss is disappointing, and you have to DLC the real ending. Get the Game of the Year Edition, it's the best bargain. Good, but burdened by grinding; 7 out of 10.

The Post Game - Dead Island

The best way I can sum up Dead Island is that it tries to catch the co-op flavor of games like Borderlands and bring it to a tropical paradise with weapon crafting. But fighting the same hordes over and over again in the hopes of getting that one special component for my ultra-rare weapon build wore out its welcome quickly. It's much better in co-op, though, and it's still quite easy to join a match; just hope you don't land in a game populated with obnoxious teens more interested in showing off and hacking the game than playing the game.

+ The world is huge. Be glad there are vehicles and fast travel, because there are a lot of places to discover. It's not a true sandbox – it 's a number of large connected areas – but it will take a lot of dedication to complete the list of missions.

+ The graphics are decent and not too stressful. Expect high framerates even if you have a basic gaming rig like I do at the time of writing (A10-6800k + R7 260X). (No screenshots because, while the graphics are decent, I never had any "wow" moments I wanted to capture.)

+ Four different characters to play as, each with their own bonuses and skills. (I played as Purna most of the time because of her firearms bonuses).

+ Crafting is good, adds some unique effects to the weapons and increases damage.

+ The co-op element works well. Very easy to drop in / drop out of games. Leveling happens much faster, and I had no trouble finding other people to play with.

+ Decent characters, if you can ignore side missions and stay focused on them. Thematically Dead Island has a lot of mature elements. It's just cloaked in this B-movie zombies-on-a-tropical-island setting. Jin's story is touching.

- / + Not really a positive or a negative, since your experience may be different, but the player-base I encountered while pugging coop matches was – immature would be a kind description. I encountered one youngster who asked me if I wanted to go join him in Minecraft. Another person was hacking the game, making everyone die repeatedly (it costs in-game money to respawn, so I didn't find it funny at all). And another player was constantly begging for attention: “Look! Hey, look! I can punch zombies! Look at the size of my fists! Did you see that? Hey, look!” If you have a group of friends you want to play with, you'll have a much better co-op experience than I did.

- Despite the decent story and some good characters, there is very little time is spent with these characters; take time to do plenty of side-quests, and any sympathy built for any of them will have gone by the time we return to the main quests. Don't do the side quests, then; but the risk is going into an area under-leveled – and you are in for a frustrating time if that happens.

- The combat gets boring after the first few hours. Guns only work well against human targets, not zombies. Melee weapons and throwables are for zombies. Run up to an enemy, hack their arms or legs off, dodge a few incoming blows, kick to stagger, kill, rinse, repeat. And enemies respawn REALLY fast, so get what you want from an area quickly, or you'll have to do it all over again. What a chore. 

- Weapons decay FAST (especially blade weapons). Always be on the lookout for workbenches to repair your weapons. Again, a chore.

- Finding materials to craft is a pain. Even if you loot every single corpse or house that crosses your path, you'll frequently be short of materials. Much better to join a co-op game in the hope of finding someone to trade with.

- The quests are repetitive. “Get 5 cans of food” “Find parts for the generator” “My friend / wife / husband / father / mother was infected, they had a memento / letter that I'd like to have back, can you help?” “Get 5 cans of food”

- Maybe because the missions all feel the same after a while, I stopped caring. I rescue this one guy who is trapped in a bungalow with zombies beating on the door. Down the street is a gas station. I rescue him, he opens the door and says, “Thanks mate. You saved my life. But I really need gas for the generator. Think you can help me out?” And I'm thinking, “The gas station is literally right there. Get your own damn gas.” Main story missions are a bit better, but even those suffer from an over-use of escort missions.

Dead Island makes a great first impression with its beautiful island paradise and aggressive zombies, but the copy-paste missions, same-y combat and rapid weapon decay left me annoyed and ready to move on to something else.

The Post-Game - Hitman: Absolution

Ever play a game that just drips with high production values and class, but you still don't like it? That's how I feel about Hitman: Absolution. I realize that it's something plenty of people will enjoy. I just didn't. Do I think it's worth picking up? Sure, if it's on sale. And you're bored.

If that sounds like I'm getting ready to drop some grade-A hate, I'm not. At least, I don't want to. There is so much about Hitman: Absolution that just reeks of care and attention. The graphics are amazing. Not necessarily a reason to buy a game, but they are. The voice acting is superb (Keith Carradine and Powers Boothe? Hell yes!). The soundtrack works incredibly well, giving an almost Bond-esque ambiance without ever getting too loud. While some levels are occasionally re-used, there are a lot of different locations and settings. And as far as the story goes, I felt incredibly close to Agent 47 (he's quite sympathetic, despite his stoicism). Sneaking from cover to cover feels fluid and natural. Weapons are deadly (headshots are a breeze with the Silverballers).

So what's my problem?

Most of the levels are claustrophobic (the opening Chinatown level and the cornfield level are exceptions). The paths through the levels are restrictive. And some levels don't even bother to hide their linearity (final rooftop level, among many others). There's no way to level-up Agent 47. Upgrades are unlocked based upon how high of a score you received upon completing a mission. But the points system clearly favors a specific path – even penalizing for non-target knockouts. I was never a fan of the Assassin's Creed games' “full synchonization” mechanic either, but this just ticked me off. There is no loadout customization; you start every mission with choke-wire and (after you unlock them) the Silverballers. Other weapons are acquired by finding them or picking them up from dead enemies – but it doesn't matter, because you'll be back to the piano wire and Silverballers once the next mission starts.

Disguises are actually not a problem; there are plenty of them around. Using them is sometimes strange, though. If planning to ghost through a police station, DON'T try to use a police uniform as a disguise. Why? Because if a cop gets too close to you, he'll detect that you're not a real policeman. Makes sense, I suppose. But in a level crawling with police, disguising as a police officer becomes a questionable strategy – which seems counter-intuitive to me. Much better to knock out a homeless person and take his disguise, since the officers won't detect you. But then, dressed as a homeless person, you won't be able to enter restricted areas without attracting attention anyway. Several times I just lost patience and started taking innocent people out to facilitate progress – and several times got embroiled in a full-on gun battle. Which actually wasn't that bad. If you're careful, 47 has a ton of health, and headshots are 1-hit kills. Add in the deadly Instinct combat mode, which has elements of the VATS system from Fallout, and 47 becomes an absolute wrecking ball of death.

There were some great moments, though. Ghosting through the flaming warehouse while troopers searched the premises was a thrill. Heading deeper underground through a mining facility with guards everywhere was a delicate game of cat-and-mouse. And trying to take out three henchmen in Chinatown with throngs of people everywhere was easily the most enjoyment I had from Hitman Absolution. Somehow I thought every level would feature that amount of variety and detail, and I'm disappointed that (to me) it didn't. Hitman: Absolution is polished and does what it sets out to do, but ultimately it's only a mediocre game that is sprinkled with some great levels.

The Post-Game - Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

A lot of users compare this game to Skyrim, when really it is more like a single-player mix of Torchlight II and Guild Wars 2. Tons of missions, deep crafting, combo-friendly combat, a huge game-world and genuinely interesting lore means a lot of time can be spent in Amalur.
Installed size on hard drive (with all DLC): 11.6 GB

Reckoning is rather like a single-player MMO, if that makes any sense. Looting, crafting and leveling are the primary attractions. There is a ton of loot; putting points into the “detect hidden” skill reveals secret rooms and passageways that have even more loot. You'll want to loot as much as you can, even armor sets that you won't use – put points into blacksmithing, disassemble the armor and weapons you don't want to get the parts, and craft something truly epic. Leveling up provides new abilities, new special moves for weapons. At the end of each leveling session, you get to choose a “Fate Card” with special bonuses. Fate Cards are not class-specific, meaning you can use them to create a warrior mage who equips heavy armor, or an archer can wield heavy weapons, or a thief / rogue who also has some magic. There are dozens of hybrid “Fate Cards.” And if you're not happy with how your build has turned out, visit a Fateweaver to “Remix your Fate” and reset your build so you can level up again with your existing points.

The world is huge. There are a lot of places to explore with side-missions hidden everywhere. The graphics are 2012 era DirectX 9: Colorful, bright, and occasionally low-res. The general comic-book style of the artwork hides some graphical shortcomings. And on the plus side, if you have a less-than-stellar gaming PC, the game will probably run just fine. (Back in the day, I ran it on a 1GB Radeon 6670 without issues). The soundtrack by Grant Kirkhope catches the ambiance nicely. The voice acting is generally good (though your hero is silent, like in Dragon Age Origins).

Not everything is excellent, unfortunately. Combat flows well, encouraging the use of different moves. Despite the many different skills and abilities at my disposal, once I found a way to dispose of mobs, I just stuck to that, and never really tried to change up my attacks. I won't say combat is easy – if you go into an area under-leveled, you'll die fast (even with potions). But once you're comfortable in the system, combat becomes just another chore. Fetch quests are repetitive. All exploration is done on foot – no horses. The dungeons are NOT copy / pasted; there's a lot of variety here. But the missions that use the dungeon and cave levels tend to follow similar patterns. If you try to do a completionist run of Reckoning, you'll need a titanic level of patience and dedication. Inventory management, frankly, s*cks. Oh, and jumping. You can't jump, except at prescribed places (“press F to jump”).

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is a great game if you love messing about in an open world while worrying about plot later. If you're looking for a go-anywhere, do-anything adventure (with the freedom to jump wherever you want), you'll probably be happier with Skyrim. Or online with friends in Guild Wars 2. Sometimes, though, a solitary, easy grind for loot is exactly what you want - and exactly what Reckoning provides.

On DLC:
The Weapons and Armor DLC provides three complete weapons sets that are accessible at the start of the game. While great to have, the things you craft will quickly surpass them in quality and effectiveness.

The Teeth of Naros and The Legend of Dead Kel are both large additions to an already massive game. Each provides a new campaign and entirely new areas to explore. Naros in particular is a great piece of DLC. Both have a lot of content in an industry where content-laden DLC are rare. Definitely worth it to get both.

Notes:
An EA account is NOT required. Though the game asks for an EA login on startup, you can simply click the X in the corner to skip the login. The game will play and save normally.

The company that developed Reckoning, 38 Studios, went bankrupt in 2013. The only support for the game is what you will find when trawling the forums.

The Post-Game - Lost Planet 3

Lost Planet 3 has a good story, decent action, and some great graphics (for its time). Unfortunately, it takes about fours hours of gameplay before things get interesting, which I think is why there are so many reviews stating the game is boring and slow. This delayed arrival of the “good stuff” means you won't be able to really judge the merits of the game without going past Steam's 2-hour refund limit. If being stuck on an ice-planet with a giant mech and aliens sounds like fun, go ahead and grab Lost Planet 3 when it's on sale.
Total installation size on my hard-drive (with all DLC and HD cutscenes pack): 27 GB.

Jim Peyton is just your ordinary guy out to earn some money for his family back on Earth by taking mining contracts for the NEVEC corporation on a frozen ice-world. This expedition by NEVEC is supposed to be the first to ever set foot on this world, but as Jim finds out, his bosses have been less than truthful about many aspects of the operation. There are several elements that you might expect: strange alien creatures, a frenemy that becomes a friend, a stoic person of wisdom, a cold and windy setting. After about four hours of gameplay, Jim is out on a mission for NEVEC when Lost Planet 3 suddenly goes all Dead Space; he finds himself exploring decrepit structures while strange creatures pop out and attack without warning. Apparent betrayal, a mad scientist, and an evil corporation round out the cast, and while you've probably seen it all before, Lost Planet 3 implements these elements well. Few things about the story surprise, but it is told effectively, and the voice acting is top-notch.

For much of the game, you climb into your giant mech (called the “rig”) and go out into the frozen wastes doing missions for the NEVEC corporation. Some upgrades can be purchased for the rig, but it's not customizeable in the traditional sense. The weapons Jim can wield have decent punch and there are about a dozen to choose from. I stuck mostly to the simple assault rifle; decent damage and a large magazine made up for the twitchy iron sights (which hurts the effectiveness of the sniper rifles). No real weapon customization, just bespoke upgrades that can be purchased at the stores.

Enemies come in two varieties: human and alien. The humans are your standard gun-wielding soldiers who hide behind cover or charge your position with shotguns. Most of the time, though, you'll be fighting the alien Akrid. There is a good variety of Akrid; my favorites were the weird six-legged ones that dive behind cover and just barely peep out at you, before rearing up like a cobra and spitting volleys. In the early part of the game, the boss battles involve fighting several of the larger, tougher Akrid all at once (when in doubt, shoot the glowy bits). Later on, there are some individually unique (and enormous) bosses (still shoot the glowy bits, though). Some of the “lesser” bosses are re-used a few times. The battles are not over quickly, and offer a fair bit of variation and challenge. Be alert for QTEs; they don't form the core of the battles, but they are important for the finishers.

The graphics are Unreal 3, and except for some strangely low-res clouds, are great (I recommend disabling Motion Blur in the Options menu, though). The backdrops are large, ice glistens, and snow blows convincingly. There is a free DLC of the cutscenes in HD (the DLC is a 7.5 GB download), so those also look excellent. The soundtrack (by Jack Wall) is great; instead of going for a big orchestral score, Lost Planet 3 instead goes for a quiet, reflective approach for story moments, and scratchy, screechy strings in the horror moments. Once you're out in the rig looking for resources, though, the mood changes to catchy folk tunes.

A number the reviews of Lost Planet 3 are outright negative, and if you don't play the game for more than four hours, you'll probably agree with them. I stuck with it and was rewarded with a good game that in retrospect has been treated unfairly (perhaps because it was too different from Lost Planet 1 and 2? I haven't played those games at the time of this review). Recommended on sale if fighting aliens on an ice-planet (with real boss battles) sounds like your cup of tea – “on sale” because a truly great game doesn't require “sticking with it.”

Notes:
- Multiplayer is dead. Don't plan on getting 100% of the game's achievements unless you can get some people together to help you out.
- There is a technical issue with the mechanical claw of the Rig. Left mouse-button attaches it to an object; if that object needs to be rotated, the screen prompt is “tap WASD to turn the claw.” THIS IS WRONG. The correct way to turn the claw is to repeatedly tap the F key. This is a common enough issue that a quick forum search revealed the answer, but how the heck does that slip by the QA testing?
- A more minor problem: there is no message if you do not yet have the attachment your rig needs for a specific action. I thought the game was broken at one point, but as it turns out the winch needed an upgrade to throw the grapple further and hit what I wanted it to; the game never flashed a message like, “rig upgrade required for this action.” Just be sure you've got the upgrades you need.

Mass Effect 3: Alternate Ending Sequence (fan creation)

What follows here is designed to integrate as closely as possible with the existing Extended Cut version of Mass Effect 3's ending. Just because I could change everything doesn't mean I should.
Picking up where the previous post left off...

Can the Reapers feel shock? After Harbinger's demise, they certainly pause.

As Alliance ships cluster in the distance to extract potential survivors, Shepard acts first, and runs to the beam.

The squad (the same squad composition that assisted Shepard with the Harbinger boss) hesitates, exhausted from the battle, then sees more Reaper reinforcements on the way. The squad staggers after Shepard.

(On NG+ Easy, NG+ Normal, NG+ Hardcore, Insanity) CHOOSE PLAYER
At this point, an option window appears:
Option 1: Play as Shepard
Option 2: Play as one of the squadmates.
(The idea here is that the first time the game is played, Option 1 is the only option available. Thus the Catalyst ending is largely experienced as it is now, with a few modifications. With a NG+, though, you get to see how well the Catalyst punked you - especially if you chose Control. Note that Option 2 is only available on the first playthrough if playing on Insanity difficulty. I think after playing through the game once, all the endings would probably unlock anyway, so on subsequent playthroughs you can end the game however you want; but it's important for that first playthrough that you as the player experience what the Catalyst is trying to "sell" to Shepard.)

If Option 1:
Shepard ascends the beam by himself (the others follow shortly after). TIM orders his soldiers not to attack Shepard.
(Reason why:
1. If Shepard was more aligned with TIM (saved Collector base), TIM wants one last chance to prove his case.
2. If Shepard was not aligned with TIM (destroyed Collector base), TIM's pride forces him to prove to Shepard how wrong Shepard was.
Either way, it is a conversation that TIM wants to have, and he does not fear Shepard, confident in his own power)
(Proceeds without the intercom conversations with Anderson (Anderson is a possible squadmate); instead, Shepard talks to himself / herself). Arrives, has confrontation with TIM. The Illusive Man's powers force Shepard to see another Shepard. The indoctrinated apparition shoots Shepard. The confrontation continues as in the original game. Shepard looks down after it is over, and sees that (s)he is shot. Crawls to console, pushes button, has a monologue with himself / herself. Communication radioed from Hackett about something wrong, crawls back to the console, collapses.

Shepard ascends and has the conversation with the Catalyst (Extended Cut Version). The conversation with the Catalyst, like the talk with Leviathan, occurs in his / her head.

If Control or Synthesis is chosen, squadmates extract from the Catalyst command console and take Shepard's body back to the Normandy. The ending then proceeds as we know it now (Extended Cut version). Shepard does not survive.

The Catalyst is not in favor of Destroy, because that choice ignores the very problem it was designed to address. It only provides information on the Destroy option when forced to, through dialog choices. If Destroy becomes available and is chosen, Shepard shoots the tubes, and "wakes up" on the platform below with the squadmates regrouping after fighting off some Keepers. More Keepers are coming (their intention is to attempt to issue commands to the Crucible through the Citadel console). Someone must remain behind to hold them off (Shepard's choice - "each of you needs to be ready to die. Anything less, and you're already dead."). Shepard and the other squadmate extract, watching the other squadmate fighting the fight of their life (cue the music https://youtu.be/TLxv_g_zQkY) followed by the Crucible firing.
Special: Shepard can stay and defend the console if the LI is in the squad. The LI will stay and fight with him / her.
(As an example: Shepard leaving Garrus behind to hold off the Keepers. Gut-wrenching. It could technically be possible to complete the Harbinger boss with all squadmates / commanders surviving, but you will always have to leave one squad-mate to defend the console if choosing Destroy. The last time you got to pick your squad was the Harbinger boss, so that choice has additional implications for this sequence as well.)


If Option 2:
Squadmates arrive a minute or so behind Shepard. They push on, hurry forward, wiping out any remaining Cerberus.

Concept from The Art of Mass Effect 3

They can hear Shepard's entire confrontation with TIM over their headsets (default Renegade or Paragon, depending on whether Shepard destroyed the Collector base). They arrive as Shepard collapses against the console.

 While Shepard has the conversation with the Catalyst, the squadmates come upon his / her body. (If one of the squadmates was also taken on the Leviathan mission, possibility for extra dialogue, as the physical symptoms of the interaction would be similar to Shepard's condition after exiting the diving mech.) Squadmates radio for extraction. Joker disobeys Hackett's orders and sends the shuttle in.

As the squadmates wait for extraction, a group of Keepers approach. The squad raise weapons, unsure, but the Keepers move slowly off to the other approach ramps. One squadmate thinks the large Keeper presence + Shepard's cold but still living body = something is wrong (duh, obviously, but more wrong than usual. Maybe have an exchange like, "Something's wrong." "Is there ever anything NOT wrong?") On the pillars that line walls, Reaper indoctrination devices are deployed (near the ceiling). The Keepers turn, and attack the squadmates.

(Shepard, talking about choices with the Catalyst, notices nothing.)

(Cue the music https://youtu.be/jJn8bKqdwjc)
Here follows a timed section: the squadmates must defeat the Keepers & destroy all the devices within the time limit.
FAIL:
If the Keepers are not killed and devices not destroyed when time runs out, Control is chosen by Shepard. (S)he recognizes the validity of the Catalyst's concerns about the Singularity, and agrees that the Reapers serve a useful purpose, which must be continued. (S)he agrees to add his / her influence to the Catalyst.
Cutscene: The squadmates extract, bringing Shepard's body back to the Normandy. The ending proceeds as in the Extended Cut.
SUCCEED:
If all the Keepers are killed and all indoctrination devices are destroyed when time runs out, Shepard chooses Destroy. (S)he rejects the Catalyst's arguments, opting instead to fulfill his / her original mission.
Cutscene: If Shepard starts going up the ramp towards Destroy, the Catalyst drops the Starbrat act and, in the deep "So be it!" voice, demands Shepard stop.
(Why? The Catalyst is not in favor of Destroy, because that choice ignores the very problem it was designed to address.)
Shepard shoots the tubes, and "wakes up" on the platform below with the squadmates regrouping after fighting off the Keepers. More Keepers are coming (their intention is to attempt to issue commands to the Crucible through the Citadel console). The non-player squadmate remains behind to hold them off. Shepard and the other squadmate extract, watching the other squadmate fighting the fight of their life while the music begins (https://youtu.be/TLxv_g_zQkY), followed by the Crucible firing.

Options 1 and 2, DESTROY ending only
Shepard's escape after choosing destroy is the ultimate disenfranchisement and insult to the Catalyst, who sends a dozen Reapers to intercept the Normandy. The Normandy escape sequence occurs as we have it now, except the Normandy is not running just from the fireball. The Reapers are in the Normandy's wake, chasing it. As the fireball gets closer, it catches the Reapers from behind, destroying them one by one. Fade to black as the music swells and the fireball catches the Normandy (Extended Cut version). Ending slides are not altered, save for the memorial scene, where the final name put on the wall is that of the squad mate who died protecting the console. Final scene is the same from the MEHEM.
Special: If Shepard and the LI were the ones defending the console, the final scene, instead of being the one from MEHEM, is based on the "breath scene" of first the LI, then Shepard, waking up in the rubble.
SHEPARD SURVIVES

Option 1 SYNTHESIS ending only.
(Note that SYNTHESIS IS ONLY AVAILABLE AS AN ENDING CHOICE IF PLAYING AS SHEPARD, not as one of the squadmates.)
Squadmates radio for extraction. Joker disobeys orders and sends in the shuttle. Squadmates discover that Shepard is not breathing. The shuttle arrives, collects squadmates + Shepard's body, and sets off again. Cutscene of ships jumping away through the relay. Crucible charges. Joker won't leave Shepard behind. Shuttle crashes into the Normandy's loading bay. Bay doors close. Normandy accelerates. In the cargo bay, all that remains of Hammer gathers around the shuttle. Crucible fires BEFORE the Normandy can jump away. In the shuttle, one of the squadmates holds Shepard's body.
(the following is intercut with the Extended Cut images of the green shockwave crossing the galaxy)
(cue the music https://youtu.be/TLxv_g_zQkY)
- The green wave engulfs the Normandy.
- The door of the shuttle opens.
(EDI's core programming is not located in Dr. Eva's body, so unless the Normandy is destroyed which in this scenario does not happen, her voice will always be available.)
IF EDI's BODY SURVIVED THE BEAM RUN:
       If the squadmate holding Shepard is not the LI: EDI stares, suddenly aware, confused at the vast array of organic emotions flooding her consciousness. She stares down at Shepard's body. Approaches, bends down. Asks, "Can I hold him / her?" Takes Shepard's body in her arms, stares at it. Her reverence is only matched by her grief which comes pouring out as she clutches Shepard's form tighter. Thus the birth of synthetic sentience is accompanied by its most profound moment of grief ("When we are born, we cry..."). The door of the shuttle opens. The Normandy's loading bay slowly becomes crowded as EDI exits the shuttle, carrying Shepard's body. Ending slides are not altered, save for the memorial scene, where EDI is the one to put Shepard's name on the memorial wall before receiving comfort from Joker ("I am alive... and I am not alone").
      If the squadmate holding Shepard is the LI: EDI stares, suddenly aware, confused at the vast array of organic emotions flooding her consciousness. She stares down at Shepard's body. Approaches, kneels down beside the pair. Takes Shepard's cold hand, holds it against her face for a moment. Her reverence is only matched by her grief, but EDI's new-found compassion forces her to reach out and comfort the LI. The door of the shuttle opens. The Normandy's loading bay slowly becomes crowded as EDI helps the LI carry Shepard's body out. Ending slides are not altered, save for the memorial scene, where the LI is the one to put Shepard's name on the memorial wall before turning receiving comfort from EDI ("I am alive... and I am not alone").
IF EDI's BODY DID NOT SURVIVE THE BEAM RUN:
Same scenes as before, though since EDI's platform isn't present, it devolves into a moment that is focused on the LI instead of EDI (unless we'res also re-writing Legion's history, then he would be the first alternate to EDI in a Synthesis ending).
If the LI is the one holding Shepard's body, the LI receives comfort from Steve Cortez (by default, since his post is in the shuttle bay), or Samantha Traynor (if romanced and / or Steve died in London).
If the LI is not the one holding Shepard's body, the LI rushes into the shuttle as soon as the door is opened.
If Shepard romanced no one, Joker will leave EDI (who, even if her platform was destroyed, still has her core processing units safely housed aboard the Normandy) to pilot the ship, and Joker will be the one who grieves the most over Shepard.

CONTROL ENDING
I don't have anything to add to the Control ending. The presence of god-Shep was perfectly implemented in the game as we have it now (in my opinion).

And there it is, my idea of how Mass Effect 3's ending could have been improved. If you made it this far, thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. I still love the game - Mass Effect 3 is probably my favorite of the Shepard trilogy. But sometimes I wonder just how good the game could have been without corporate deadlines and budgets plaguing the creative spirits at BioWare. This is my shot at providing an answer.

Mass Effect 3 - Better Final Assault (fan creation)

Fans and critics have complained about the many shortcomings of Mass Effect 3. The relatively linear progression of the game compared to the previous two games, the shallow development of some characters, some odd story decisions, and, of course, that ending. 

The thing that chafes at me personally about Mass Effect 3 is the final combat sections. It's just more of the same stuff we've had throughout the game. One reviewer said he just wanted all these characters we'd come to know so well to each have their badass moment of glory, and I agree that fighting alongside Garrus and Wrex as leaders of squads of turians and krogan would (for me) have really emphasized the coming together of species to defeat the Reapers. The horde mode stuff works, I guess. But what would it take to have made the final ground battle really epic (besides sheer numbers)? 

I have no idea if what I'm about to outline is even programmable. But I would have loved something like this. I hope you enjoy it. There's no professional pride here. If you've got comments, let 'em fly.

(From the game, in London) Anderson: I'll give you a moment with your squad. Pick your team well...

At this point, an option window appears. The assault to the beam will involve five teams: Shepard (up the middle), the left flank, the left wing, the right flank and the right wing. (The “flank” teams are immediately adjacent to Shepard's team, which occupies the middle; the “wing” teams are even further to the left and right.) It might be possible to have multiple routes to the missile battery, allowing Shepard to be assigned to a position other than the middle. But that would have meant more work for BioWare...

(Why five total teams? Because of the upcoming boss battle. Read on.)

Possible default options for command of the four support teams include:

- Admiral Anderson (Alliance)

- Major Coates (Alliance)

- James Vega (lost his own command in Paragon Lost, gets his redemption) (Alliance)

- Garrus Vakarian (will take command of the Turian Armiger Legion) (Turian)

      - Primarch Victus (alternate to Garrus if the latter dies in Mass Effect 2) (Victus is present in London and is characterized as a “soldier's general”, so it makes sense for him to assume a command in the final battle)

- Kaidan / Ashley (Alliance)

- Wrex (krogan shock squad; maybe the new “Arlakh” company?) (Krogan)

      - Grunt (alternate if Wrex was killed on Virmire)

      - Wreav (alternate to Wrex and Grunt if Grunt's tank was never opened and Wrex is dead)

- Liara T'Soni (shadow broker wet squad / asari commandos) (Asari)
These choices will always be available.

Additional choices will be available. These will be strictly optional appearances based upon game actions. Optional commanders and squads include:

- Tali Zorah vas Normandy (engineering squad) (Quarian)

- Admiral Zaal Koris vas Quib-Quib (alternate to Tali) (Daro'Xen is the vocal alternate for Tali in the Geth Dreadnought mission, but Zaal Koris' more moderate stance towards the Geth makes him a better choice for a "coming together of species.") (If Tali is dead and the Quarians are eliminated on Rannoch, the squad does not appear.)

- Prime Ajax (my name for the Prime who appears in London.) (commands a squad of flamers, hunters and soldiers) (Geth) (If the Geth are eliminated on Rannoch, the squad does not appear.) (It'd be nice if Legion didn't have to become a robo-messiah; if that were changed, he would appear here instead of Ajax.)

- Major Kirrahe (commands an STG squad) (Must survive Virmire and the Citadel coup attempt) (indications are that STG would support Shepard regardless of the position of the Salarian government, so getting Salarian support is not a condition for their presence)

 - Jondum Bau (Kirrahe alternate) (If Kirrahe does not survive and Bau's mission is never completed, the STG squad does not become available for assignment.) (I theorize that before he was a Spectre, Bau was STG; thus he would not be a complete stranger to the squad.)

- Aria T'Loak (commands mercenaries) (must complete the Omega DLC for Aria and squad to appear)

- Miranda Lawson (commands a group of Cerberus defectors)

- Jacob Taylor (Miranda alternate) (Jacob doesn't want to be on the front lines if possible, which is why he declines to join Shepard in the game; with everything at stake, though, I think he would step up.) (If Miranda dies and Jacob's mission is not completed, the Cerberus defectors squad will not be available for assignment.)

- Samara (squad of justicars) (doesn't really command them, as justicars answer to no one but the code; Samara functions more as a liaison) (If Morinth was chosen, Samara's mission is never completed or Samara does not survive her mission, the squad does not appear.)

- Jack (commands the Grissom Academy Students) (to have them appear here, must not choose the “support role” dialogue with Kahlee Sanders in the Grissom Academy mission. If the “support role” dialogue was chosen, Jack does not survive Mass Effect 2, Jack is not at Grissom Academy when Shepard liberates it, or Shepard does not liberate Grissom Academy, the squad does not appear.)

Every character listed may be chosen as a squadmate for Shepard if not chosen for a command. Zaeed, Javik, Kasumi and EDI are available as squad-mates, but not as commanders. (Javik was military, and could command; I'm simply not sure which allied faction would trust him with command of their soldiers.)

Push forward

There could be some contextual acts requiring the efforts of the support teams. Maybe Shepard gets pinned down by Ravagers, requiring one of the flank teams to clear them before (s)he can proceed (Shep fights a few waves of enemies in a confined space). How quickly the flank team succeeds in clearing the resistance depends on the command rating of the team leader. Maybe use some of those un-used multiplayer maps for this (two of them looked to me like they were planned to be Earth levels). Shepard, in turn, could clear out a few nests of resistance so the flanking teams can advance (maybe a chance to use some heavy weapons again?).

Defend the missile battery

Missile battery defense will happen in five waves. The first Shepard & squad must handle by themselves; the second wave (s)he has the support of one of the flanking forces. The third wave sees the arrival of the other flanking force; the wave ends with the first attempt to launch the Thannix missiles. One of the sides collapses (in the game, it was the left; here it would be randomized, left or right – perhaps based upon which commander assigned to a wing had the worse command rating). Wave four the wing force (the one that didn't collapse) arrives. Wave five is the battle royale (cue the music https://youtu.be/xPLoxSS4aV4), ending with the successful firing of the last two Thannix missiles (as in the game). All surviving support teams could fight alongside Shepard for wave five. After the missiles fire, stragglers from the destroyed wing force arrive at the missile battery in the ensuing cut-scene.
(The idea here isn't that there are dozens of allied troops on the field - that would be hard if not impossible to program. The big set-pieces would appear in cutscenes. During the fighting, the allied troops would be in the distance, with the commanders that Shepard assigned to lead them joining him/her in the fight - perhaps with contextual triggers.) 
(What I mean by a contextual trigger is, for instance, both of Shepard's squad going down, six Brutes being on the map at once, Shepard's health being reduced to a critical level. Any one of those could trigger a cut-scene.
-Shepard's health is low- Cut to Wrex leading the krogan shock troops: "Shepard needs our help! Krogan! CHARGE!" In-game, Wrex and a few krogan would spawn into the map to provide assistance.
or
By not killing fast enough, there are six Brutes or six Banshees on the map at once - the numbers could vary based on difficulty - Cut to Major Kirrahe: "The line is breaking! We have to hold it!" In-game, Kirrahe and the STG squad spawn.
Each squad-leader would have their own cut-scene and moment of glory - except for the ones that were supposed to hold the collapsed flank, of course. Not all squads need necessarily trigger.)

Final push to the beam

(ride in the truck, conversation with Anderson; truck crashes to a halt, they get out and see the beam – all as it happens in the game)

Harbinger arrives

EMS check – if too low, Shepard executes the run to the beam, as we have it now.

EMS check – if high enough, Shepard fights Harbinger (why the EMS check? Because defeating Harbinger will require pulling ships away from the Reaper battle; if too few ships remain in the fleet – i.e. too low of an EMS score – the Crucible would never make it to the Citadel, meaning Shepard & Co. might defeat Harbinger, but the Crucible would be destroyed, resulting in a Critical Mission Fail.)

Harbinger boss battle, Stage 1

Shepard calls down two artillery strikes from the fleet on Harbinger (similar to the Rannoch Reaper fight). Obviously, (s)he must survive while doing so. The strength of these hits is much greater than on Rannoch.

Harbinger boss battle, Stage 2

To keep Shepard from calling down more strikes, Harbinger attempts to control Shepard's squad or assigned commanders, forcing him / her to fight them.

On Easy: 1 squad-mate or commander becomes indoctrinated

On Normal: 2 squad-mates or commanders

On Hardcore: 3 squad-mates or commanders

On Insanity: 4 squad-mates or commanders become indoctrinated.

At the start of this section, you must choose a new squad for Shepard from those who are not indoctrinated. (The in-game explanation is that those not indoctrinated rally to Shepard to help him / her; those who are indoctrinated turn on him / her.) So, for example, Shepard could have Anderson and Tali in his / her squad; (s)he could wind up fighting Garrus, Liara, James Vega and Wrex. Thus choosing the strongest allies to command the support teams or to support Shepard in the squad at the initial stage of the final battle might seem like a safe choice at the time, but could result in an incredibly difficult fight here.

Shepard's indoctrinated allies are encased in a strange shield that Shepard must break through in order to crack the indoctrination (visually, just another layer over their health bar). Once this additional layer is depleted, the target falls to the ground and lays motionless.

Harbinger boss battle, Stage 3

The effort to directly, rapidly indoctrinate (up to) four unwilling subjects quickly tires even Harbinger, and his shields drop (similar to what happened with Sovereign and Saren). Shepard climbs into a Mako, trying to avoid Harbinger's laser beams, attempting to reach another Thannix missile battery. (I wonder whether there should be a wave or two of husks here, but at this point the fight will have gone on for a very long time). If successful, all missiles are fired at once, Harbinger is killed (with something like this (from 1:11 to 1:42) playing over the top of it as he falls  https://youtu.be/HFq-7ecXKFA?t=1m11s).

At this point, between defending the missile battery and fighting Harbinger, the attack force is almost completely wiped out. But, they have reached the beam.

(I don't have a set of numbers to determine who would become indoctrinated and who wouldn't. EMS and maybe a hierarchy of command + loyalty from previous games for each character could come into play.
The LI can never die from indoctrination, regardless of who it is.
Javik and EDI can never become indoctrinated by Harbinger. Javik because his thirst for revenge is stronger than any power Harbinger could wield; EDI because her actual self is miles away aboard the Normandy, not housed in her platform.
Liara and Anderson might become indoctrinated, but cannot be killed. 
Those who had no loyalty mission in the franchise would always die IF INDOCTRINATED (James Vega, Wreav, Major Coates, Zaal Koris, Major Kirrahe, Jondum Bau, Aria T'Loak, Prime Ajax). It is possible to have any of these characters assigned a command or in Shepard's squad, and survive because they do not become indoctrinated.
If a commander or squad member had their loyalty mission completed, they won't die after being indoctrinated / possessed by Harbinger.
As an example: Shepard could go into the Harbinger boss with Tali and Anderson as the squad, fighting indoctrinated Garrus, Wreav, Jacob and Liara. Garrus' loyalty mission was completed in ME2, so he survives after the indoctrination is broken. Liara cannot be killed due to indoctrination, so she survives. Wreav will die. Jacob's loyalty mission was not completed in ME2, so he will also die. Doom is not certain, but the fact that everyone except Shepard + squad could die would bring that choice-and-consequence back to the final fight of the game.)

(Having a Harbinger boss battle creates the issue that a Harbinger boss is never properly prepared in ME3, though I think that could easily be rectified with Harbinger communications at several places throughout the game.)

I drafted several versions of this post. This is the most complex, intricate version. The trimmed down version involved only involved two support squads - one on the left flank and one on the right flank. That version would have been easier to create, no doubt, but I just wanted to go as big and epic as possible.

The Post Game - Alan Wake

Alan Wake is a linear third-person shooter whose atmosphere and story attempt to redeem the frankly clunky combat. The game proceeds in six episodes (with two additional DLC episodes that are now included for free). Worth a purchase on sale if you enjoy a combat-driven interactive movie, but there's not much replayability (unless you're a collectibles and achievements fanatic).

Alan's wife, Alice, gets “taken” by a mysterious “dark presence.” The entire game is spent trying to release her from its power. Alan is frequently lost, operating on whim, and not really sure of how to proceed. A writer himself, he begins researching old legends of Cauldron Lake and the power that words written there seem to possess. This is really the best part of the game, as the labyrinth of creation and created and how to balance what is desired with what is needed leads Alan down an increasingly dark path (pun intended). As he discovers, he is not alone in his knowledge of the lake's mysterious power, nor the first to suffer from it. The supporting cast are varied and colorful characters, several of whom have their own history with Cauldron Lake.

The atmosphere is suitably dark and fog-swept at times. Most of the game happens at night, so turn down your room lights and crank the audio to catch the ambiance (the sound design is superb). The setting is a unique one: the woods and small town atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest. The ambiance is captured nicely, and the woods have thick foliage and dark shadows. Old logging and mining gear abounds, providing just the right touch of historical nostalgia and rusty menace. The buildings and architecture are a mix of rustic, country-style structures (built sturdy to withstand the harsh winters) other more attractive, modern structures designed to impress tourists (Cauldron Lake Lodge). The great music score is the icing on the atmospheric cake: moody but melodic, it catches the feeling of solitude at night-time haunted by the supernatural.

A supernatural that is made perhaps more terrifying by the clunky combat. Shine a light at enemies to burn away the darkness, then shoot them with whatever weapon you have to hand. It works well enough, but feels loose and sloppy. The weapons are few, but do feel different: revolver, shotgun (regular and pump-action), flare gun, hunting rifle, flares, and flash-bangs. That's it. They're not all available at the same time, and at the beginning of each episode, Alan only has a flashlight and a revolver. So, no matter how good you were with saving up your gear, thinking there might be a big battle coming up, once the episode ends, you'll lose it all anyway. The enemies offer little variety. You've got the standard hatchet-throwing “taken”, the big “taken”, the fast “taken”, and random flocks of crows that fly out of the sky and attack Alan. Sometimes random objects (like cars, tires, dumpsters) will become possessed and attack Alan. With so many creatures that dwell in the woods of the Pacific Northwest, I expected there might be a boss fight with a bear or a pack of coyotes, but no.

None of these drawbacks would matter if the total experience offered by Alan Wake were more than the sum of its parts. Unfortunately, it isn't. I enjoy it because when I first played it years ago I had no idea that video games could handle narrative in this fashion. I'll always have a nostalgic appreciation for it and it just kills me to provide a mixed recommendation. But if you want more than story and atmosphere, look elsewhere, because you'll be sorely disappointed by everything else. If story and atmosphere suffice, though, get Alan Wake right away.

The Post-Game - Ryse: Son of Rome

Hack. Slash. Shield bash. Repeat. That's Ryse: Son of Rome in a nutshell. The more I tried to objectively assemble a list of positives and negatives, the more I realized that Ryse has little unique to offer (those graphics, though!). However, there is real promise in several areas, and I had fun in an arcade-y way. Ryse is worth a purchase at 75% off or more, but certainly not at full price.

You can view the game's opening here.

What's to like:

+ The graphics for sure. If you have a killer rig and want an awesome-looking game to showcase your hardware, this is your game. The developers didn't phone in the backdrops, either: the vistas are huge, the backdrops extensive. The undergrowth in Britain is deep, detailed and lush. The water looks like real water, not shiny, shifting, reflective plastic. Character detail is superb, though facial animations still look just a bit stiff.

+ The voice acting is great, and carries the game at many points. Everyone delivers a superb performance (player-character Marius and npc Vitallion are both stand-outs).

+ The story has emotional impact, though if you're at all a fan of the time-period, the careless mixing of old and new legends will probably annoy instead of satisfy. Still, it's enough to keep you moving forward.

+ The soundtrack is a decent emulation of Zimmer's Gladiator score (not surprising).

+ The combat is slick and swift, and easy for newcomers.

+ A lot of effort clearly went into designing the two-player co-operative multiplayer; there are at least a dozen maps and four game modes. It's a lot of fun to team up with someone and slay enemies in the arena, but matchmaking is not that good at the moment, if a match can be found at all.

+ Well-optimized (for Radeon, anyway). In an era of increasingly shoddy PC ports, Ryse ran great on my moderate hardware (A10 6800k + 2GB R7 260X); I averaged around 50fps @1080p Medium settings.

And now, the not-so-awesome stuff.

-  Linear as hell. Rome may look awesome in the distance, but you can't go there.

-  While the story works, even the slightest bit of historical research will reveal there is nothing even approaching “accuracy”. If you were hoping for a cool Roman-era hack'n slash, you'll get it. Historically accurate? Nope. Just a mix of the cool stuff.

-  No real large-scale payoff to the story. Marius has closure, no question. But the larger implications including that he was somehow an instrument of the gods – are never addressed. We just get these god-figures who appear at the end (and are glimpsed throughout) with some decent speeches about purpose, rules, and Rome, and that's it.

-  Combat is limited and repetitive. Hack, slash, shield-bash, repeat. Maybe dodge here and there. It definitely bored me by the sixth chapter (out of eight). A missed opportunity to maybe dual-wield swords, or have a spear and shield, but nope. A sword and shield the entire game.

-  Staying with combat for a minute, finishing moves are a QTE-fest. I don't mean every few minutes; every other second you're performing some kind of QTE. I suppose this was easier than programming more complicated forms of combat.

-  I loved some of the contextual battle choices – where to deploy your archers, advancing on a line of archers in the testudo formation. But these are under-used, and offer little variation.

-  Upgrade skills are ridiculously cheap. I've played enough of the Batman Arkham games to be able to string together a 35-hit combo without much trouble. A big enough combo and correctly-completed QTEs grants tons of “honor” points that are used to level up. If the game were harder, upgrading would have meant more...

-  ...perhaps. Aside from new execution animations, the upgrades didn't seem to have much effect.

Ryse: Son of Rome is a linear hack'n slash that will satisfy in short bursts, but anyone looking for deep gameplay and customization will be disappointed. The potential is there to be something truly great, but sadly that potential remains unrealized.  

The Post-Game: DOOM Multiplayer Open Beta

I played the DOOM Open Beta this weekend and found it rather easy, with not much content on offer at the moment. Get a good team together, and matches are a breeze. That's great for people who are new to the franchise, but come on now. If companies constantly chase a new audience, they'll lose their old one. Yes, I realize the game is still in beta, but only two modes and a handful of maps? There better be a lot of content in the pipeline for release, but with publishers frequently choosing to offer content as DLC, I'm not certain that will be the case. The only thing going for the game at the moment is the great character customization (including weapons).

There are some balancing issues (most related to OP weapons and large hit-boxes), but that's something that is excused because of the beta status. Old-timers looking for DOOM nostalgia will be bored quickly, but newcomers will find it a fun, fast-paced arena shooter. This is a larger problem in the game industry: it's assumed the "old timers" (those who have been loyal fans for years) will be so happy there is something new in their favorite franchise that they'll overlook the "dumbing down" that is designed to appeal to a larger audience. They won't. Which leaves the new folks to carry the burden of the game's success. But there's little that is new or unique on offer; if the final product is anything like the beta, the DOOM multiplayer component will be yet another "flavor of the month" game until something else comes out.

To address the giant demon in the room:

Why would anyone pay $60 for DOOM with the promise of DLC when Xonotic is completely free and offers tons more content (which is also free)?

And this isn't even getting into the single-player campaign, which is still under wraps. If it proves to be another phoned-in campaign that is clearly playing second-fiddle to the multiplayer, I expect DOOM to crash and burn hard. 

The Post-Game: Tomb Raider Legend

Tomb Raider Legend is a story-driven platformer that is fun to play, but a near-game-breaking bug and some awkward mechanics belittle the overall positive experience.

The story is decent, if a little disconnected. Lara is searching for an artifact that killed her mother years ago. A great excuse to send Lara to a variety of diverse locations, from a sleepy South American town to the frozen mountains of Nepal. Zip and Alistair provide some snarky commentary as she proceeds through the levels – some of it almost breaking the fourth wall. It helps keep the proceedings light-hearted and fun, even if what is happening is quite serious. Lara herself is keen, quick-witted, whip-smart, and always ready with a snappy come-back. TR: Legend was actress Keeley Hawes first time voicing Lara, and she does an absolutely fantastic job.

The platforming is well-executed and slick, with timed movements (move quickly before the platforms collapse) and required momentum (remember to HOLD the spacebar to jump in some places, or Lara won't jump far enough). Gun-play just feels odd; lock on to a target, use the arrow or WASD keys to switch the lockon from target to target. While doing this, Lara can run, jump and dodge. There is a free-aim mode, but once engaged Lara cannot move at all, so the lockon mode will be the one used most often. I rebound the keys to what I wanted, so there is that. There are no waypoints; not really an issue in a game this linear. The climbing puzzles are generally well done; remember to use Lara's binoculars first to scan an area for hints before trying to solve a puzzle. Some bosses can only be defeated with the help of the environment, so if a boss seems like it is taking no damage, start looking around for switches and levers (and things to grapple). Nothing is handed to you in this game, though once you figure out a puzzle or boss, it will be solved or defeated in a matter of seconds.

Now for the issues, and there are more of them than there should be. Lock-on would sometimes result in strange camera movements, and the camera doesn't immediately auto-rotate to the forward direction when riding a motorbike. The platforming direction controls aren't always intuitive. A similar issue plagues the QTEs; the onscreen arrows don't always indicate the correct direction, resulting in multiple fails until finding the right button-press. Disable Next Generation Content in the graphics settings; TR: Legend looks better with it, but this will eliminate nearly all crashes. And there is the near-game-breaking bug in the Nepal temple level. A cutscene, then Lara needs to run to a door, hit it (I won't say with what, because spoilers), the door will open, triggering another cutscene and a platforming section. But hitting the door doesn't always make it open, meaning progression through the game is blocked. Just keep re-loading a save until the game works the way it is supposed to (it took me seven tries the last time I played it). Ridiculous, but there it is.

The saving grace through all of this is Lara Croft herself. Unlike more recent versions of Lara, this one has no lack of confidence. You never hear Lara telling herself, “I can do this.” She already knows she can, and can worry about other things. I still highly recommend Tomb Raider: Legend despite the game's issues, because there is nothing truly game breaking, and this remains one of my favorite “older” versions of Lara. If story-driven platforming and puzzling is your preference, or you just want more Lara Croft, absolutely get this one.